Upper shaping machine



Feb. 26, 1946. E. A. HOLMGREN I 2,395,480

UPPER SHAPINGMACHINE Filed Julie 22, 1944 Inventor Eric A. Holmgk-en By h Attorney Patented Feb. 26, 1946 r UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE UPPER SHAPING Eric A. 'Holmgren, Beverly, Mass assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, J a corporation of New Jersey A p a ion une 2 ,.5sria1N9; L519 12 Glaims.

This invention relates to upper shaping machines and is herein illustrated in its application to machines for shaping prewelt uppers.

Letters Patent No. 2,359,762, granted October 10, 1944, on a copending application of mine, disclose upper shaping means including an inner mold member having the general edge contour of an end portion of a last, and a welt conforming member having an edge contour complemental to the edge contour of the work supporting member and movable longitudinally of. the inner mold member to position the welt in predetermined relation to the edge of said member. The welt conforming member operates by engagement with the outeredge face of the welt, and it is therefore desirable that the outwardly extending portion of the welt be so oriented that its edge face is arranged to be engaged by the welt conforming member.

To this end the present invention consists in the provision in a machine for shaping prewelt uppers having a member movable generally longitudinally of a ection of the welt of r a prewelt upper in the machine and arranged to engage the outer edge face of said welt, of means for so positioning the welt that its outer edge face is arranged to be engaged by said member. In the illustrated construction the welt positioning .means comprises a welt lifter constructed and arranged to engage the upper attaching face of the welt and operable in advance of the welt conforming member to cause the welt to stand out from the upper so that its outer edge face is engaged by said member. In accordance with a feature of the invention the illustrated welt lifter is cont-ructed and arranged to be actuated by the advancement of the welt conforming member. In the illustrated machine the welt conforming member is constructed and arranged to embrace an end portion of a prewelt upper in the machine, and two welt lifters are therefore required one at each side of said end portion of the upper to arrange the Walt at opposite sides of the upper for engagement by the welt conforming member. In accordance with a further feature of the invention means is provided for so controlling the movement of said welt lifter that it travels in a predetermined path extending longitudinally .of a section of the welt. This arrangement permits the work engaging end portion of the welt lifter to move in a path close enough to the outer surface of the upper to enable the welt lifter effectively to determine and control the orientation of the outwardly extendin por ion of the wel In the illustrated constructi n the we l t r is an arm havin beve ed we t l f in ace on t ed and arran ed to enga e th u per it. ins face of he welt sa d arm bei g Irv-0 lly mo n ed on support on whi h there is als m. ed m ans for ef ects predeterm ned lon itud nal of said. am in- 3 taneouslv s piv a1 mo ement thereby to sen e the wt he end ort on o sa d am to t avel in a nextend n lo itudin l of a section of the we t.- in ac o dance wi h a urther ss ir of the inven o he W911 onf rmin ni's ided wi h means en a in t e s9 ttach n s rface of th wit order to prevent th Wa t .fIQm b ing lifts? n o a posi -ism n wh ch it is out o s immest ith th we t c n orm n msmb r- I t 1 lustrated construction the outwardly extending rs tiqh o he wsli i si l onfi e betw en he lt li er an a l hesd ,ps ti n f the We t ssho m ng m m er and th s ngag men of the welt conforming. member with the outer edge face of the welt is definitely insured. T e upper s ap ng a hine i u a e n my patent above referred to is provided with means or bulgin an end portion of a sup orted uppert s desi b e that the o r old s bs r ra ted prior t h o e a io o a d lg g means s nce i w u d n ere w t t e bul in ope ati -ii it emain d n e c a p n posiiOIh It s also esir ble th e uter mo d member remain infretracted .position after the uppe u in oper t on a d .un t e p er h s b n r ed th m th m c so t a it will not come in contact with the bulged portion of the upper after the bul ing means hasbeeniretracted and thus misshape the upper. For holding-the outer mold member in retracted po ition th e t on pr ide in m na n with the retracting means, a suitable latch member. To enable the operator to cause the outer moldmember to be returned to its operating posi ion pre a ator t t e ne su ceed n operation of the machine the invention provides manually operable means for releasing said latch member.

Th and other ur s o e n ntion will now be described with reference to the aceorrrpanying drawing and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawin .Fig- 1 i si e; elevat on o a o ti n a ma h emb dying the fe tu es of the pre n nve tips. t e umbe shapin ins ru entaliti s final stage of the operation thereon by the illustrated machine. This machine in its general organization and in its operation on the upper is substantially the same as the machine illustrated in my patent above referred to.

In common with that machine the present machine is provided I with means for shaping the toe portion of a prewelt upper, comprising a flat inner mold member l2 bilaterally symmetrical in shape and having a peripheral contour corresponding generally to the outline of the toe portion of a last bottom. Coopcrating with said inner mold member is a complementally shaped outer mold member l4 mounted at the forward end of a plate I6 slidably mounted for longitudinal movement in ways proe vided in the two side walls of the machine head,

one of said walls being identified by the numeral- [81in Figs. 1 and 2. The mold members l2 and I4 engage and grip the upper along a line adjacent to the welt 20. In addition to their upper shaping'function said mold members also serve to support the upper for the subsequent operations thereon. For positioning the welted margin of the upper relatively to the inner mold [2, a welt conforming member or plate 22 is mounted for movement longitudinally of the supported upper and'arranged to engage the outer edge face of the welt 20. Asshown in Fig. 2 the forward edge face 24 of the welt conforming member has a curvature substantially complemental to the peripheral contour of the inner mold member l2. The welt conforming member brings the welt into a position in which it is uniformly positioned widthwise thereof relatively to the edge face of the inner mold member [2. Immediately following the operation of the welt conforming member 22 a wiper member 26 overlying the welt conforming member advances longitudinally of the upper and wipes the welted margin inwardly overthe margin of the inner mold member 2 and shapes the welt into its flattened condition illustrated 'in Fig. 1. While the welt conforming member 22 and the wiper 26 remain in their respective advanced positions illustrated in Fig. 1, an upper shaping mold member 28 which is bilaterally symmetrical in shape and has the general contour of the upper portion of the toe end of a last is moved downwardly into the upper to expand and shape its toe portion and simultaneously'is moved longitudinally of the upper to perform a bulging operation on the toe end of the upper.

In order that the outer mold member I 4 shall not restrict the upper bulging movement of the mold member 28, said outer mold member is retracted into its position illustrated in Fig. 1 rior to the operation of the member 28. In order to retain the outer mold member in its retracted position and to prevent possible misshapin of the toe portion of the upper by contact of said outer mold member therewith after the upper shaping operations have been completed and after the mold member 28 has been retracted, a latch is provided for retaining the plate IS in its retracted position against the tension of the spring 30 which advances said plate to bring the. outer mold into upper engaging position. The illustrated latch is an L-shaped member 32 pivoted at its elbow on the side Wall I8 and provided at the end of its horizontal arm with a shoulder arranged to engage a pin 34 projecting outwardly from a bell crank lever 36, and yieldingly held in pin engaging position by a spring 31." Said bell crank lever is a part of the mechanism for retracting the outer mold member 14, said lever being operatively connected to the sliding plate l6 by the inwardly extending portion of the pin 34 which engages the vertical portion of an angle member 33, a horizontal portion of which is secured to the plate I6. The vertical portion of the latch member 32 serves as a handle whereby the operator releases the latch to permit the return of the outer mold member to its advanced position after the molded upper is removed from the machine and before another upper is mounted therein.

' In order to position the welt 29 so that it will be engaged by the forward edge face 24 of the welt conforming member 22 during the advancement of said member a welt lifting member here in illustrated as an arm 40 (Fig. 2) is supported on a plate 42 secured to and projecting widthwise of the supported upper from the outer mold member l4. The outer end portion of the arm 40 is in the form of a head which has a longi- V tudinal slot 46 through which there extends a headed screw 48 on which said'arm pivots as it moves longitudinally relatively thereto. The combined pivotal and longitudinal move entspr the welt lifting arm 40 cause the welt engaging end portion of the arm to travel in a path substantially parallel to the edges of the weltZll; In order that the end portion of the welt lifting arm 40 may come in close to the upper It, as shown 7 in Fig. 3, said end portion is beveled on its under surface to provide clearance for the upwardlyprojecting beveled portion of the outer mold member M. For eiffecting longitudinal movement of the arm 40 a short'arm 59 (Figs. 2 and 4) is mounted in a recessed portion 52 of the plate 42 and secured to a pin 54 rotatably mounted on the plate 42. The free end portion of the short arm 50 is pivoted to the outer end portionof the head 44, as shown in Fig. 2. A torsion spring 56 (Fig. 4E) surrounding the head .58 of the pin 54 urges the welt lifting arm 40 in a clockwise direction as seen in Fig. 2, thus holding the "work engaging end portion of the arm 40 in contact with one end of the welt conforming member 22. During the advancement of the welt conforming member the welt lifting arm '40 is swung ina counterclockwise direction. as seen in Fig. 2, and its beveled surface 60 engaging the upper at taching surface of the welt'lift s'the welt into a substantially horizontal position "in" which "its outer edge face is arranged to be engaged by the edge face 24 of the welt conforming member. The operation of the Welt lifting arm 40 is illiis trated in Fig. 5. It will be understoodthata.

ing member. Each fiangedportion 62 is positioned above the main portion of the welt conforming member to the extent of the thickness of saidflange. As shown in Fig. 3 the wiper 26 I is provided at each side thereof with a longitudinal recess 54 which receives the flanged portion at each side of the welt conforming member and permits the wiper to engage the sole attaching surface of the welt.

In the operation of the machine the latch 32 is manually released to permit the spring 30 to advance the outer mold member I4 into upper engaging position. The operator then arranges the prewelt upper to be operated upon so that the upper edge portion of the outer mold member is positioned within the welt crease around the toe portion of the upper. The head 86 carrying the inner mold member i2 is then rotated on the shaft Hi to bring itinto upper molding position. Thereupon a lever 63' is manually actuated to advance the wiper 25 and the welt conforming member 22 as a, unit until the forward portions of the wiper engage the corners of the toe portion of the welted margin of the upper to bring those portions of the welt into horizontal position and wipe them inwardly over the margin of the inner mold l2. As the forward portions of the wiper engage the corners of the welt and bring them into their horizontal position shown ,in Fig. l the welt lifting arms 40 are advanced by engagement of the welt conforming member therewith to bend the welt at opposite sides of the toe portion of the upper upwardly into horizontal position. The relative position of the wiper and the welt conforming member during their advancement as a unit is such that as the forward portions of the wiper bring the corners of the welt into a horizontal positionthe welt conforming member engages the outer edge face of the welt about the entire toe portion of the upper and arranges the welt so that it is uniformly positioned Widthwise thereof relatively to the edge of the inner mold member I2. The welt conforming member then comes to rest and the wiper advances relatively to the welt conforming member to complete the overwiping of the toe portion of the welted margin. During the latter part of the movement of the lever 68 a roll H1 at the upper end of said lever engages a cam surface l2 on the bell crank lever 36 and swings the bell crank lever in a counterclockwise direction, as seen in Fig. 1, thereby moving the plate 16 to the right and retracting the outer mold member [4. Upon completion of the movement of the lever 68 the latch 32 engages the pin 34 at the lower end of the bell crank lever 36 thereby retaining the outer mold member in its retracted position. The toe mold 283 is then advanced to shape and bulge the toe portion of the upper and after an interval sufiicient to allow the upper to set in its molded shape the lever 68 is moved to the right as seen in Fig. 1 to retract the wiper and the welt conforming member and then the toe mold 28 is retracted and the head 66 is withdrawn from the upper, leaving the upper free to be removed from the machine.

Having thus described my invention, what -I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine for shaping prewelt uppers, a member movable generally longitudinally of a section of the welt of prewelt upper in the machine, said member being arranged to engage the outer edge face of the welt, and means for welt upper comprising a member having the general edge contour of an' end portion of a last, a welt conforming member havin an edge contour complemental to the edge contour of the work supporting member, means for moving said welt conforming member longitudinally of an upper in the machine into engagement with the outer edge face of the welt, and a welt lifter for so positioning the welt that its outer edge face is engaged by said member.

3. In a machine for shaping prewelt uppers, means for supporting an end portion of a pre- Welt upper comprising a member having the general edge contour of an end portion of a last, a welt conforming member having an edge contour complemental to the edge. contour of the work supporting member, means for moving said welt conforming longitudinally of an upper in the machine into engagement with the outer edge face of the welt, and a welt lifter operating progressively in advance of the welt conforming member to position the welt so that its outer edge face is arranged to be engaged by said member.

4. In a machine for shaping prewelt uppers, welt shaping means comprising a welt conforming plate movable lengthwise of an upper in the machine and having a welt engaging surface constructed and arranged to engage the outer edge face of the welt thereby to conform the welt to the general outline of a shoe bottom and a' welt lifter constructed and arranged to be actuated by the welt conforming plate.

5. In a machine for shaping prewelt uppers, welt shaping means comprising a welt conforming member constructed and arranged to embrace an end portion of a prewelt upper in the machine, and two welt lifters one at each side of said end portion of the upper, said welt lifters being constructed and arranged to be actuated by the welt conforming member.

6. In a machine for shaping prewelt uppers,

means for supporting a prewelt upper in a predetermined position in the machine, a welt lifter comprising a member having a welt lifting surface constructed and arranged to engage the upper attaching face of the welt, and means for so controlling the movement of said welt lifter that its welt lifting end, portion travels in a predetermined path extending longitudinally of a section of the welt.

7. In a machine for shaping prewelt uppers, means for supporting a prewelt upper in a predetermined position in the machine and. means for operating on the welt to cause it to stand out from the upper comprising a welt lifting arm having a beveled welt lifting surface constructed and arranged to engage the upper attaching face of the welt, a support on which the welt lifting arm is pivotally mounted, and means for effecting predetermined longitudinal movement of said arm simultaneously with its pivotal movement thereby to cause the welt engaging portion of said arm to travel in a path extending longitudinally of a section of the welt.

8. In a machine for use in the manufacture of prewelt shoes, a welt positioning member constructed and arranged to engage the outer edge face and the sole attaching surface of the welt and a welt lifter constructed and arranged to engage the upper attaching surface of the welt and orient the welt relatively to the welt posi-. tioning member.

9. In a machine for use in the manufacture of prewelt shoes, a welt positioning member constructed and arranged to engage the outer edge face and the sole attaching surface of the welt, means for moving said member lengthwise of an upper in the machine, and a welt lifter constructed and arranged to engage the upper attaching surface of the welt and movable in advance of the welt positioning member to arrange the welt for engagement by said member.

10. In a machine for use in the manufacture of prewelt shoes, a welt conforming member constructed. and arranged to engage the outer edge face of the welt of a prewelt upper, means for positively positioning the welt so that its outer edge face registers with said welt conforming member comprising a member arranged to engage the sole attaching surface of the welt and a welt lifter constructed and arranged to engage the upper attaching surface of the welt and movable in advance of thewelt conforming member to orient the welt relatively thereto.

11. In a machine for shaping shoe uppers, an

inner mold member, an outer mold member for gripping an end portion of an upper against the inner mold member, a wiper for wiping the lasting margin of the upper in over the inner mold member, means for applying upper gripping pressure to the wiper, means for retracting the outer mold member, a latch for holding the outer mold member in retracted position, and means for bulging said end portion of the upper.

12. In a machine for shaping shoe uppers, an inner mold member, an outer 'mold member for gripping an end portion of an upper against the inner mold member, a wiper for Wiping the lasting margin of .the upper in over the inner mold member, means for applying upper gripping pressure to the wiper, means for retracting the outer mold member, a latch for holding the outer mold member in retracted position; means for bulging said end portion of the upper, and manually operable means for releasing said latch to permit the return of the outer mold member to its operating position preparatory to the next succeeding operation of the machine.

ERIC A. HOLMGREN. V 

